Glasgow Ships
1.
Glasgow ships come sailing in,
Come sailing in, come sailing in;
Glasgow ships come sailing in,
On a fine summer morning.
You daurna set your foot upon,
Your foot upon, your foot upon;
You daurna set your foot upon,
Or gentle George will kiss you.
Three times kiss you, four times bless you,
Five times butter and bread
Upon a silver salver.
Who shall we send it to,
Send it to, send it to?
Who shall we send it to?
To Mrs ----'s daughter.
Take her by the lily-white hand,
Lead her over the water;
Give her kisses, one, two, three,
She is the favourite daughter.
2. Glasgow ships come sailing in, &c [3 times]
Three times bless you, three times kiss you,
Three times butter and bread upon a silver saucer.
Whom shall I send it to, I send it to, I send it to?
To Captain Gordon's daughter.
3.
The Glasgow ships come sailing in, &c. [as 1st version]
Three times down and then we fall, then we fall, then we fall,
Three times down and then we fall, in a fine summer morning.
Three times butter and bread, butter and bread, butter and bread,
Three times butter and bread upon a silver saucer.
Come, choose you east, come choose you west, Come, choose you east,
come choose you
west,
To the very one that you love best.
4.
Glasgow ships come sailing in, &c. [as 1st version]
She daurna set a foot upon, &c.
Or gentle John will kiss her.
Three times round the ring, three times bless her,
I sent a slice of bread and butter upon a silver saucer.
Whom shall we send it to? &c.
To Captain ----'s daughter.
Her love's dead and gone, dead and gone, dead and gone,
She turns her back to the wa's again.
She washes her face, she combs her hair,
She leaves her love at the foot of the stair,
She wears on her finger a guinea gold ring,
And turns her back to the wa's again.
5.
A Glasgow ship cam' sailin' in,
Sailin' in, sailin' in;
A Glasgow ship cam' sailin' in,
In a fine simmer mornin'.
Three times bless ye a',
Four times kiss ye a',
Five times butter an' breid
Upon a silver saucer;
Kiss one, two, three, forbye
The captain's only daughter.
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(1) Gomme II (1898), 424, from Perth; (2) ibid., from
Rosehearty; (3) 425, from Nairn; (4), ibid., from
Fochabers and Wigtonshire. "All join hands and form a
ring. At the end of verses the girl named turns her
back, and the game is resumed." (5) Greig FSNE clix.2,
from Kininmonth.
Ford CR 82 is close to (1), with differs: 2.4 John 3.1-2
Three times will kiss you;/ Four times will bliss you; and
extra stanzas, = "Braw news is come to town", Chambers'
"girl" version , with 2nd stanza "First she got the kail-
pot,/ Syne she got the ladle;/ Syne she got a dainty wean,/
And syne she got a cradle."
Maclagan GDA (1901), 81, is close to (4): differs: you
dare not stamp . . . kiss you/ Three times kiss you, four
times kiss you,/ Send a piece of butter and bread/ Who/ To
[say] Mrs. McKay's daughter. [Next couplet omitted.] She
leaves her lad/ She wears a gold ring and a velvet string,/
And she turns her back behind her. (The tune is Sheriffmuir.)
He adds an Aberdeenshire version (Tullynessle), with tune;
differs: You durstna/ till Jamie Tod kiss you./ Three times
kiss you, four times kiss you. Take a slice of bread and
butter, upon a silver saucer. Who shall I give it to/
Jeannie's mother's daughter./ She washes her face, she combs her hair,
She leaves her lad at the foot of the stair, She
gives him a gill and a wee drap mair, And turns her back
beh
Cf. "Here is a Lass with a Golden Ring".
Filename[ GLASGSHP
MS
OCT98
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!